The most romantic proposal ever? Artist spends six months trekking 3,000 miles through Japan with a GPS tracker to spell out 'Marry Me' across islandsBy Catherine Eade4 December 2014

There aren't many marriage proposals that can be seen from space, but for this traveller, an epic journey through Japan was also a unique marriage proposal.

Japanese artist Yasushi Takahashi – a.k.a Yassan - left his job to travel through Japan, covering more than 4,349 miles (7,000 kilometres) in six months, mostly on foot and sometimes by car, ferry or bicycle. GPS technology tracked his every step as he journeyed from Hokkaido island to Hyodo Cliff on Kyushu island where the trek ended.

The final stage of Yassan's romantic journey included an arrow struck heart after the giant proposal

At the end of his journey, the GPS records of his travels around the country spelled out the phrase ‘Marry Me’ - with an arrow through the heart sign added afterwards for good measure.

Each location was carefully planned so that the GPS tracking would spell out his romantic chosen phrase clearly. 'I wanted to write the world's biggest proposal, and I found GPS drawing was the way to do it,' Yassan said of his feat.

Yasushi Takahashi also made a video of his entire trek to show his girlfriend afterwards. At the start of his record breaking journey he straps on his GPS tracking equipment, above

Seen from above, the GPS tracking leaves a trail wherever Yassa walks

Yassan quit his job to go on the trek of his home country, visiting locations the length and breadth of Japan

The heartwarming expedition has been chosen to appear in a new documentary about how walking can lead to extraordinary things. The 'Walkumentary Series' is an online project produced by Amsterdam-based agency this that + the other for the brand Hi-Tec, which aims to show how inspiring walking can be. Yassan, then 31, quit his job in 2008 and planned a journey through Japan, taking with him a GPS device and a map.

He documents many steps of his epic journey with a video capturing some of his favourite moments

Some of his journey was taken by car but in this episode he films the aftermath of leaving the road (unhurt)

Give me an 'M': Yassan starts the first letter of his carefully planned proposal

What is GPS anyway?

GPS stands for Global Positioning System, and is a worldwide radio-navigation system which automatically sends information to a central tracking portal.

It is used in a range of situations to monitor the location of things and people in real-time, using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network.

Microwave signals are transmitted to GPS devices to give information on location, speed of travel, time and direction.

A GPS tracking system can give real-time and historic navigation data on any kind of journey.

His purpose was two-fold: to experience Japan fully, and also to draw a special message for his girlfriend using GPS tracking technology. As a part of his unique marriage proposal, Yassan also created a seven-minute video describing his epic journey through the country. The video is split into seven 'chapters' and shows various stages of his trek, starting at Hokkaido island. Video footage of his experiences include him walking along on difficult roads, climbing Mount Fuji and visiting hot springs.

Yassan’s legwork is officially the world’s largest marriage proposal, and also holds the Guinness Record for the world’s biggest GPS drawing, covering 7,164 kilometers.

Yassan journeyed from Hokkaido island to Hyodo Cliff on Kyushu island where his trek ended

Not only a record breaking trek but a particularly romantic use of GPS

All lit up at night, the giant proposal is the only one in the world which can be seen from space

And was it a happy ending? Luckily, yes, despite the fact that it took six months. 'It wasn't a waste of time. After I explained, she said yes. It is a sweet memory,' says Yassan at the end of the documentary.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Floyd and Violet Hartwig died holding hands at the end of a marriage lasting 67 years.

Their daughter, Donna Scharton, said Thursday that once the family sensed the couple was close to death, they pushed their two hospice beds together, gently joining their hands. Floyd went first, followed by Violet five hours later. They died Feb. 11 at home in Central California, as they had wished.

Scharton says her parents' romance sparked at a dance hall when Floyd, a decorated Navy sailor, was home on shore leave. They went on to have three children, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Scharton says that people often commented on her parents' connection.

Cynthia Letson says that once her grandfather passed, the family told her grandmother that she could go too.

'How lucky I am to spend my life with the greatest woman I ever met': Johnny Cash's note to wife June voted greatest love letter of all time (and beats poet John Keats)By Martha Cliff 11 February 2015

A heartfelt birthday message from Johnny Cash to his beloved wife June has been voted the greatest love letter of all time.

The simple, but plainly expressed missive in which the singer dubbed the Man in Black writes 'you're the object of my desire, the #1 Earthly reason for my existence,' has topped a list of passionate penmanship. Written in 1994, the letter beat notes by Keats, Churchill, Jimi Hendrix and the great Hollywood lovers Richard Burton and Liz Taylor.

Johnny Cash's birthday letter to his wife June in 1994 has been voted the greatest love letter of all time

In the Valentine's Day poll, the country music legend Johnny Cash's letter in which he writes to 'the greatest woman I ever met' on his wife June Carter's 65th birthday was regarded as the most moving. In it he wrote, 'We got old and got used to each other. We think alike. We read each others [sic] minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes we take each other for granted. 'But once in a while, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met. You still fascinate and inspire me. You influence me for the better. You're the object of my deskre, the #1 Earthly reason for my existence. I love you very much.'

Winston Churchill's words of undying love to his 'darling Clemmie' in 1935 came second. Despite his many wives King Henry VIII makes an appearance in the list confessing his love to his second wife Anne Boleyn in 1527.

Poet John Keats came in third place with his letter to his next door neighbour Fanny Brawne telling her that he couldn't live without her in 1819

The much-married monarch, who later had his wife executed, wrote: 'I beg to know expressly your intention touching the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection.'

Poet John Keats may be famous for his odes but he only manages third place on the table despite his way with words telling his next door neighbour Fanny Brawne that he can not live without her in 1819. Jimi Hendrix's letter to his 'little girl' comes in at tenth as he encourages her to 'spread her wings'. The recipient of the letter is unclear but still earns itself a place in the top spot.

The poll to discover our favourite romantic message was commissioned by British life insurance company Beagle Street to encourage Brits to be more romantic on February 14. In the battle of the sexes, it was men who came out on top in the romance stakes with nearly one in four (24 per cent) saying they have sent a love letter within the last year. But after 38 per cent of women admitted that they had never written a love letter, 46 percent declared the tradition outdated.

Gerald Ford earns himself ninth place on the list with his letter to wife Betty after her cancer diagnosis

Londoners proved the most romantic in the country with 74 percent claiming to have penned a love note, while in the North East it was just 55 percent. Beagle Street's managing director Matthew Gledhill says that a hand-written note is still appreciated even in the modern age. 'A well-written love letter can stand the test of time and be a permanent record of affection so it is important the tradition doesn't die out. We hope our research inspires people who have never written a love letter to take some time out and write down and share exactly how they feel with a loved one.'

TOP TEN GREATEST LOVE LETTERS

1. Johnny Cash wishes wife June Carter Cash a happy 65th birthday (1994)'We get old and get used to each other. We think alike. We read each others minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted. But once in awhile, like today, I meditate on it and realise how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.'

2. Winston Churchill tells wife Clementine Churchill of his undying love (1935)'My darling Clemmie, in your letter from Madras you wrote some words very dear to me, about having enriched your life. I cannot tell you what pleasure this gave me, because I always feel so overwhelmingly in your debt, if there can be accounts in love.'

3. John Keats tells next door neighbour Fanny Brawne he can not live without her (1819)'I cannot exist without you - I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again - my Life seems to stop there - I see no further. You have absorb'd me.'

4. Ernest Hemingway professes his love to Marlene Dietrich (1951)'I can't say how every time I ever put my arms around you I felt that I was home.'

5. Napoleon Bonaparte sends his love to Josephine de Beauharnais (1796)'Since I left you, I have been constantly depressed. My happiness is to be near you. Incessantly I live over in my memory your caresses, your tears, your affectionate solicitude. The charms of the incomparable Josephine kindle continually a burning and a glowing flame in my heart.'

6. Richard Burton tells Elizabeth Taylor of her beauty (1964)'My blind eyes are desperately waiting for the sight of you. You don't realize of course, E.B., how fascinatingly beautiful you have always been, and how strangely you have acquired an added and special and dangerous loveliness.'

7. King Henry VIII expresses his love for Anne Boleyn (1527)'I beg to know expressly your intention touching the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection.'

9. Gerald Ford reminds wife Betty Ford of his and their family's love for her shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer (1974)'No written words can adequately express our deep, deep love. We know how great you are and we, the children and Dad, will try to be as strong as you. Our Faith in you and God will sustain us. Our total love for you is everlasting.'

10. Jimi Hendrix tells his 'little girl' to spread her wings (date unknown)'Happiness is within you*. so unlock the chains from your heart and let yourself grow like the sweet flower you are*..I know the answer-Just spread your wings and set yourself FREE'

A Man Proposed To His Girlfriend Every Day For A Year Without Her KnowingBy Josh Kurp9 March 2015

Have you ever done something for 365 days in a row that wasn’t eating, breathing, going to the bathroom, or watching that scene from Dexter where Harrison falls off the treadmill?

Probably not. And definitely not proposing every day for a whole year to your girlfriend without her knowing, like Dean Smith did. He filmed himself holding up a whiteboard reading, “Will you marry me, Jen?” with that day’s date beginning in January 2014, while doing normal activities like taking a shower and making a sandwich because love is Hellmann’s mayo, or something.

At no point did he watch the treadmill scene, though. Jen really should’ve said no.

Tokyo (AFP) - Dressed in a kimono and kneeling silently on a tatami mat floor, 61-year-old Yasue Tomita looks as if she might be about to perform a Japanese tea ceremony -- instead she's debuting as a porn actress.

Fluttering her eyelashes demurely as the cameras prepare to roll, Tomita is proof that in Japan's greying society you're never too old to chase your dreams, however racy or unorthodox. She has also become part of a flourishing niche market in Japan: "silver porn" -- stretching the limits of eroticism among the elderly and overturning social norms in a country where people are expected to grow old gracefully.

Love, too, is not confined to the young, say Japan's growing army of pensioners exploring their desires in more conventional ways, with dating agencies for the elderly reporting increasingly brisk business. Tomita confessed to being "a bit rusty" but made no apologies for her rambunctious lust for life, or her decision to put aside her knitting and crochet and launch into a career making X-rated movies. "I like my handicrafts but I wanted to try my hand at this, while my body still works," she told AFP before filming began. "I do like sex, and this is my last chance before I get too old. I'm very nervous. I wonder if I should really do it, especially in front of so many people, but everyone should follow their dream.

"I just hope I can keep up," added Tomita, who used to work in a factory manufacturing car parts and registered for an agency in Japan's booming "adult video" (AV) industry with her daughter. "We applied through the Internet together. I got offered a job first, which surprised her a bit."

Forbidden pleasures

In ageing Japan, around 32 million people -- a quarter of the population -- are 65 or over. Thanks to a low birthrate and growing longevity, that proportion is expected to rise to 40 percent by 2060.

With statistics like that, it's no surprise that geronto-porn is big business. Adult movies rake in about $20 billion a year, and those featuring unashamedly wrinkly men and women account for between 20 and 30 percent of that market, industry insiders say. Sales have rocketed over the past decade as more of Japan's perky seniors celebrate their mojo. Though not for the faint-hearted, the genre took off thanks largely to now-80-year-old Shigeo Tokuda, the twinkle-toed king of granddad porn, who has peeled off for hundreds of hardcore flicks with titles such as "Forbidden Elderly Care" and "Manic Training of Lolitas."

Pornography became widely available in Japan in the 1900s, with seventeenth century Edo-era woodblock erotic prints being many people's first introduction to the genre. Attitudes towards sex are less prudish than in other parts of the world and fun-loving fertility festivals, where giant wooden phalluses are joyfully carried around towns, take place annually in parts of Japan.

"Everyone has different sexual tastes or fetishes," said director Fumiaki Kimura. "Elderly porn has become very popular over the past 10 years or so. Older couples watch together because they can feel a connection, a sense of closeness or familiarity, being the same age. "It's like a forbidden pleasure," he added. "Young people watch it because they're fed up with the regular stuff -- whatever turns you on. You do hear about actors taking Viagra, but that can be dangerous for the older guys." Tokuda, who beds actresses young enough to be his granddaughter, also co-starred with Fujiko Ito, just two years his junior, the pair frolicking in hot springs or on tatamis with Ito in a kimono.

Natsuko Kayama, 44, a porn star with 25 years' experience in the industry, told AFP she wanted to outlast the oldest swingers in town. "I'd love to be the oldest AV actress," she laughed. "I want to break the record if I can -- if I last that long."

Love, actually

Far away from the steamy film sets, others entering the autumn of their lives are simply interested in finding companionship, perhaps after losing or leaving their first long-term partner.

But with habits set, it isn't always easy to meet someone, and many turn to one of hundreds of matchmaking services catering to older clientele, such as the Ai-Senior company, which boasts a total of 6,000 registered members, some in their 90's. Later life dating hit the headlines last year with the grisly case of the "Black Widow" -- 68-year-old Chisako Kakehi, who was arrested in November accused of murdering her septuagenarian fourth husband with cyanide. Placing adverts for an "unattached elderly man with assets", she was said to have amassed millions of dollars in insurance and other payouts over 10 years as a result of the deaths of a string of spouses and lovers.

Most elderly daters, happily, have far more felicitous stories to tell. Yosuke Komori, 66, and his 57-year-old wife Mutsuko met through another dating agency. Both previously married, they wed four years ago and still hold hands like smitten teenagers. "I think a healthy sex life is an added bonus of marriage," said Mutsuko, who got married in a daringly short dress, to the horror of her daughters. "I think perhaps my husband is sufficiently confident in that department. But the most important thing in a relationship is mutual understanding." For bashful Yosuke, it was never only about the physical side of things. "I feel most contented when she is happy," he said sheepishly. "I don't want to sound soppy, but I just want to make her smile. What's important is love, actually."

A newly married pilot and his cabin crew wife were treated to a romantic flight to celebrate their marriage - leaving aviation geeks baffled.

Followers of online tracking services such as flightradar24.com took to social media in confusion as a plane departing from Malta International Airport proceeded to fly in a heart shape around the island.

Their bewilderment intensified when flight KM 14JC continued flying as it approached the airport, creating a second heart-shaped flightpath over the Mediterranean. But a quick glance at Malta International's arrivals board went some way towards solving the mystery - showing 'JUST MARRIED' as the flight's status.

The arrivals board at Malta International

An Air Malta spokeswoman told Sky News the pair had been married earlier in the day at the airport itself. "They are both members of staff at Air Malta," she said. "He is a pilot and she is a member of the cabin crew. They were joined on the flight by family, friends and colleagues who had been at the wedding. I think it was a very romantic flight. They flew close to Sicily, so they could see Mount Etna through the window."

Social media users were split in their views of the nuptial stunt. Twitter user Peter Depuydt asked: "Creative training flights?", before saying: "Life is still awesome" as the truth behind the flight emerged. Another, Aoife Sherwin wrote: "Love in the air over Malta! PR stunt or marriage proposal?! @AirMalta brilliant either way!"

But not everyone was entirely overwhelmed by the romantic caper, with Twitter user Paul Kingston appearing to joke: "This Air Malta plane clearly loves dumping fuel."

A crossword-loving British lawyer hid a marriage proposal in The Times newspaper’s daily puzzle. Matthew Dick thought of the cryptic way of popping the question to girlfriend Delyth Hughes and persuaded the newspaper to agree.

Tuesday’s Times crossword opened with one across: “Pretty Welsh girl widely thought not to be all there.” The answer: Delyth. Other clues included “‘Will you marry me,’ say, that’s forward also rude.” The answer was proposal.

Dick, 38, told Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper that he showed Hughes the crossword at breakfast, with some key words underlined, then “reached into my pocket to reveal the ring.” “She looked so surprised and didn’t say anything for about 30 seconds, before then saying ‘No’, which she thought was hilarious,” he said. “But she did then say ‘Yes’ and I had to tell her this was the real Times crossword, not something I had printed out myself.”

Hughes says she was “dumbfounded that he’d gone to such lengths.” “It was also bloody typical, as he’s a smart-arse at the best of times,” she said. “I’ve heard all the engagement stories but this one trumps them all. It’s so special and such a geeky way of doing it.”

Times crossword editor Richard Rogan said he believed this was the first time the newspaper had included a proposal in a puzzle. He said it was “a one-off” that wouldn’t be repeated.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A married St. Louis couple is sharing their unlikely love story about three years after the mistaken text message that forged their relationship.

Kasey Bergh accidentally sent a text to Henry Glendening, a stranger, in June 2012. The pair continued communicating after realizing they had a lot in common, sharing recommendations on books, movies and music, before meeting in person for the first time a week later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Upon their second meeting two days later, they each arrived at a Kirkwood coffee shop at different times and realized they had ordered the same drink. "From the very, very beginning it felt like we were on the same wavelength," Glendening said.

Despite a 30-year age difference, Bergh and Glendening's connection flourished, and they moved in together within two months. "It really didn't make any difference," Glendening said. "We were so connected at that point through deeper stuff." He credits Bergh with helping him get out of an "awful place" in his life, which included an unhappy relationship and a dead end job. "Kasey is a huge inspirer. She wasn't recommending or advocating any particular direction I go, but she encouraged exploring, finding out what I want to do," Glendening said.

Bergh believes Glendening caused her to again believe in love and change her mind about remaining single after her divorce six years prior. "I had totally embraced I was single and that I never needed a guy," Bergh said. "Then I met Henry."

Exactly two years after the errant text message, Glendening proposed to Bergh at the rooftop restaurant where they ended their first meeting, with her favorite song, "Thank You" by Led Zeppelin, playing in the background. The couple married June 27 in front of a graffiti wall near the St. Louis riverfront.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A historic Philadelphia tavern is offering some Leap Day incentives to women looking to settle down.

KYW-TV reports McGillin's Olde Ale House is trotting out a Leap Day tradition encouraging women to propose to men. According to Irish folklore, February 29 was the one day of the year where women could pop the question to men. Legend has it that St. Brigid had complained to St. Patrick about how unfair it was for women to wait for men to propose, and they brokered the Leap Day deal.

McGillin's is offering $100 gift cards to the first five women who propose to their man at the bar on Monday. Owner Christopher Mullins says they decided to embrace the legend and the day. The only catch? The man has to say "yes."

This copper brooch contains the letters "RMA," which when read from left to right forms the monogram for "Roma" the city of Rome and its god. Read from right to left it forms the monogram for "Amor" the Latin name for Cupid, the god of Love.

A person with a metal detector has discovered a 1,800-year-old copper brooch, engraved with the letters "RMA," on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. It contains wordplay that is, quite literally, "lovely," scientists have found.

The letters on the brooch, which dates to a time when the Roman Empire controlled Britain, contain different meanings depending on how they are read. When read left to right, the letters form a monogram for "Roma," the name of Rome and its deity. "Roma may be identified as Dea Roma, the deity personifying the city of Rome," researchers wrote in a paper set to be published in the journal Lucerna.

However, when read from right to left, the same letters form the monogram for "Amor," the Latin name for Cupid, the god of love. "The palindrome Roma-Amor was widely recognised and played on in antiquity," the researchers noted, referring to the fact that the word can be read backward or forward to spell the same phrase.

There's yet another possible meaning. If the person who wore this brooch also wore a second brooch containing the monogram for Mars, the god of war, the full meaning of the two brooches combined could be "Rome, (city) of Mars" or "Rome, beloved of Mars," the researchers wrote. The different meanings could serve to "perplex the viewer and thus deflect the risk of ill-fortune directed by a malign gaze," the researchers wrote.

The brooch was found by a person using a metal detector in December 2015. The discovery was reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), which keeps records of such finds.

In ancient times, "the brooch was probably attached to a tunic or cloak," using a pin, said Sally Worrell, one of the paper's authors and a national finds adviser with PAS. The wearer of the brooch may have been a Roman soldier or veteran, the researchers said in the paper, noting that similar brooches have been found in Roman military garrisons in southern Germany and eastern Europe. Although no Roman garrison has been identified so far on the Isle of Wight, researchers say it's possible that Roman soldiers traveled to the island, while Roman veterans could have settled on it.

In England and Wales, it's legal for amateurs to use metal detectors to find artifacts, as long as they have permission from the landowner and they avoid archaeological sites that have been granted protection by the government. Certain finds (such as those made of precious metal) must be reported to antiquities authorities. While the use of metal detectors by amateurs is legal, it is a controversial practice; some professional archaeologists say it can damage archaeological sites. It's not known if the finder of the brooch will donate it to a museum.

71st Valentine's Day for Auschwitz survivor, soldier she met14 February 2017

LONDON (AP) -- She is a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp. He is a former Scottish commando who was on the scene when the Nazis fell.

They met at a dance shortly after surviving prisoners were freed from the horrific Nazi death camp and have been celebrating Valentine's Day together since 1946. So John Mackay and his wife Edith weren't going to let living in a nursing home keep them from marking the romantic occasion. They had a bit of party Tuesday at the Balcarres Care Home in Scotland.

Activity director Pamela Shaw said Mackay, 96, has suffered a stroke but is recovering, and 92-year-old Edith is still going strong. She says "they're doing really well ... their romance is absolutely beautiful. They're just amazing people."

MADRID (AP) -- A young Spaniard who was smitten with a woman he saw on a tram posted fliers on lampposts hoping to make contact. Someone claiming to be the woman responded by pleading with him to leave her alone.

Spanish newspaper El Pais and other media reported Friday how Sergio Moreno had posted a letter titled "The Girl on the Tram" in the southeastern city of Murcia, describing the date and time of seeing her, how she was dressed and how he wished he could have cheered her up.

The story went viral when pictures started appearing of a supposed response from the woman, accusing Moreno of harassment and saying "if you want to make me happy, stop looking for me." But El Espanol newspaper cited a woman who said she wasn't on the tram but had written the response because she and her friends had viewed Moreno's letter not as one of romance but one that instilled fear.

Moreno told La Opinion de Murcia newspaper he had just wanted to meet up with the woman because she had seemed unhappy and denied accusations that he was bullying or being sexist. He said he had received about 300 calls, some encouraging him, others insulting him and threatening him. He said if the woman didn't respond by Tuesday he would throw away his phone. The number he posted didn't ring Friday.

WESTFIELD, N.J. (AP) -- A love letter lost in the walls of a New Jersey home reached a World War II veteran 72 years after it was written.

Melissa Fahy and her father found the letter in a gap under the stairs while renovating her Westfield home.

The letter, postmarked May 1945, was written by a woman named Virginia to her husband, Rolf Christoffersen. Her husband was a sailor at the time in the Norwegian Navy. "I love you Rolf, as I love the warm sun," Virginia Christoffersen wrote. "That is what you are to my life, the sun about which everything else revolves for me."

Fahy told WNBC-TV in New York that she could not believe the love and admiration Virginia had for her husband. "It was really sweet to see that long-distance love," she said. She decided to find the Christoffersens and deliver the letter, turning to a Facebook page for help. Facebook users located the couple's son in California hours after Fahy's post.

The son read the letter to his 96-year-old father. Virginia died six years ago this weekend. "In a way, I guess it's his wife coming back and making her memory alive again," Fahy said.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- He was an Elvis Presley-loving sailor who spun records for the U.S. Navy radio station on the Caribbean base where he was stationed. She was a local woman whose brother worked at the base.

More than a half century after the brother introduced Jennifer Meyerink and Stephen Walbert, the long-separated couple's love was finally sealed in Rochester, where they were married Monday in the hospital where Walbert has been undergoing treatment for leukemia.

"That eternal flame turned into a bonfire, and it's still roaring today," the 73-year-old Walbert said as relatives and staff at Rochester General Hospital crammed into his room to view the marriage ceremony officiated by the city clerk. In a nod to Elvis, Walbert wore a black sequined outfit, a purple scarf and aviator sunglasses. The bride wore a black dress and purple hat.

Walbert, a Chicago native, was stationed in 1965 in Trinidad and Tobago, where he worked nights as a disc jockey for the base's radio station. The two fell in love, but Walbert was transferred back to the states. He gave his dog tags to Meyerink, telling her, "Darling, I'll be back one day for this."

But he never returned to the island nation. The two lost touch, and each got married and started their own families - Meyerink in Ontario, Canada, and Walbert in Wisconsin. After Meyerink's spouse died, her sister used Facebook to find Walbert, by then a widower and living in Waupaca, in central Wisconsin. The two began corresponding via email, and reunited in 2015. Walbert moved to Canada in March 2016. "I never stopped loving him. I realized that," the 72-year-old Meyerink said.

In October, Walbert was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. He decided to seek treatment in Rochester, where his son lives. Later this week, Walbert and his family will decide whether to continue his treatment at the hospital or choose hospice care. "I haven't given up hope on myself yet," said Walbert, the dog tags Meyerink had saved for 50-plus years hanging from his neck. "I never will. But I have her back. And that gives me all the strength I need to get through the rest of my life."

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Young couples in southern Philadelphia are transforming something old into something new with their take on the Italian wedding serenade.

The serenade has been a tradition for hundreds of years, particularly in southern Italian regions like Naples, Puglia and Calabria. There, it takes place the night before the wedding, where the groom and a guitarist - or a full accompaniment of accordion, mandolin player and violist if he's splurging -appear on the street outside the bride-to-be's home. They sing traditional love songs as she gazes down from her window. She eventually descends to embrace her rose-bearing husband-to-be as neighbors and family members look on.

The age-old tradition came along with immigrants to Philadelphia in the 1800s and retained its modest flavor until recent years. Now, serenades have taken on an air of a block party, with grooms singing to a choreographed routine with popular songs as guests enjoy a catered meal, full bar and DJ dance party.

"It's kind of like a New Year's Eve to your wedding," said Paolo DiPaolo, who serenaded his bride-to-be Stephanie Longo in October at a south Philadelphia street party that mixed the traditional with the popular. "This is one of the main things you look forward to."

The street outside his now-wife's parents' home was blocked off to traffic as guests ate pasta at tables with white linen cloths. The bride's father made batches of homemade wine, and DJ Johnny Looch - south Philly's serenade expert, John Luciano - spun songs with love and marriage themes like Frank Sinatra's version of "Get Me to the Church on Time" and The Dixie Cups' "Going to the Chapel."

To warm up the crowd, the bride-to-be's uncle from Calabria sang traditional songs as he strummed a guitar, while the older relatives crowded around him, some singing, others tearing up. Then the bride took a seat with a glass of wine, and DiPaolo unleashed his serenade - complete with dance moves - starting with DJ Snake's "Let Me Love You," segueing into "Sexy Love" by Ne-Yo and finishing with the classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, as the two danced and the crowd clapped and cheered.

Father Nick Martorano has been a guest at a host of serenades during his lifetime, both as his role as pastor of the St. Nicholas of Tolentine for over 30 years and his childhood growing up in the neighborhood. His church, one of the last Italian National parishes in the country, still celebrates one Mass in Italian every Sunday. He remembers the more traditional serenades of his youth, where the groom and a guitarist would come the night before the wedding, and then be invited inside for coffee and treats. As to why the tradition persists after all these years away from Italy, he thinks it's a simple reason: "Because it's a good, fun time. It's friends, neighbors and the community coming together to celebrate two of their own."

At the height of Italian immigration into the city, Philadelphia's Little Italy was actually a patchwork of regional neighborhoods, according to an essay by historian Stefano Luconi. For example, people from Abruzzi settled on one street, and people from Calabria settled on another. The serenade tradition settled with them.

Diego Mautone is a musician in Naples, Italy, who makes a living as a serenade artist. There, the event still happens the night before the wedding, and grooms reach out to him to help craft a romantic experience, he said. They leave the singing to him. Although he had never heard of the modern Philadelphia twist on the traditional serenade, he called the new take on it "fantastico!"

Newlyweds Dana and Danny Ricciardi had their serenade at the end of October in southern Philadelphia. "I kept joking I was more scared of singing than saying 'I do,' Danny Ricciardi said, adding that his brother so loathed the idea of a serenade that he kept the tradition from his fiancée so she wouldn't press him on it.

Ricciardi serenaded his bride-to-be with a rendition of R. Kelly's "Ignition." Dana Ricciardi said she looked forward to the serenade almost more than the actual ceremony, because it was a time have fun and blow off steam from all the stress of wedding planning. "We're a festival people," she said. "The serenade plays off that."

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